Quick yet healthy dinners for picky kids and overworked mom

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 12:18 pm

OK, I really need help with weekday suppers.

- I work FT and walk in the door together with my kids right around supper time, so I need to have things prepared beforehand and just be able to warm them up and feed the cranky/hungry/tired kids (and mommy) right away.

- I have a 6 yr old, 4 yr old and 2 yr old (BH) so while they may not be super picky, they are, like all kids that age, pretty partucular. They like pasta, hot dogs and rice. I feel like I end up making the same dinners every week - hot dogs (which are not that healthy so I feel guilty) or meatballs with either rice or noodles on the side. Once in a while I make chicken nuggets (basically small shnitzels) or fish sticks (coated and fried fish), but it's pretty time consuming and they lose their patience waiting and whine or throw tantrums.

- I don't mind doing some dinner prep the night before for more time-consuming things but I would prefer not to spend more than 30 minutes (?) max. Of course, the less the better.

I would LOVE to hear some ideas. I am open to using my crockpot.

TIA!!!

Imhappy!

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 12:39 pm

crock pot and george forman grill are my best friends
chicken cutlets / breaded with mayo and crumbs or plain with salt and spices
ground meat/ chicken patties
quick healthy and easy on the forman

the crock pot I do
soups -wish kids would eat them though Sad

turkey stew - works wonderfully as well as chicken ( my kids dont eat it well though)
if you need more details I'm glad to help...

also freezing doubles helps.
tonight im having meat patties ( frozen , prescooped ready to be popped into the forman grill..) and pasta and salad.

sky

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 12:50 pm

do you have a grill pan? You can clean and marinate chicken cutlets the night before. They cook very quickly on the grill pan. (You can serve with frozen french fries on the side)

Would your kids eat lasagna with veggies in it. If yes, make lasagna with mushrooms and spinach. You can bake it covered tightly in the oven on a timer so that it is ready when you come home. Most of the time you don't have to boil the noodles first so its quick to put together.

I make quick chicken stir fry. You can make the night before and stick in the oven in a pan and just reheat when you get home. Its a full meal between the chicken, veggies, and rice.

Will they eat chicken. You can cook chicken 1/4s, sweet potatoes and rice or couscous all in one pan. Put it together and bake the night before and just reheat when coming home.

octopus

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 1:06 pm

I also bake my schnitzels - I make it on 400 and bake for an hour. depending how I want them I either cover or uncover. but that does take an hour along with prep time.

I grill chicken cutlets in the broiler 15 minutes on each side. I spray with cooking spray then sprinkle (lightly!!!) onion/garlic pwder and little pepper. flip after 15 minutes, spray and spice other side and broil for another 15 minutes on the other side. so it's a 1/2 hour cook time with like 2 min of prep.

I also grill bottoms of chicken like this, too. but prep time goes up because you have to skin the chicken. then proceed the same- except I don't spray with olive oil spray and I don't spice it again when I flip.

as far as side dishes - couscous is fast. I buy the far east brand and it comes with a spice pack. takes five minutes.

this is milchiges and I don't know how filling it is but it can be done nutritiously and I know my kids love it. I buy the whole wheat pita breads and make homemade pizza on it. It is by far the most favorite supper in my house. ( I rarely buy regular pizza). I cut the pita in 1/2 so I have a thin round circle. I put tomato sauce and spices (whatever you like- oregano, onion/garlic pwder). top with cheese and pop in the toaster oven .

burgers can be fast too if you decide not to put any fillers in the meat. just shape chop meat into a burger and put it under the broiler for 7-10 minutes on each side.

I guess you can tell that I love my broiler- it makes fast dinners!

octopus

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 1:09 pm

also, while I'm prepping supper, I usually quickly cut up pepper and cucumber slices (veggies that my kids like). and they eat it because they are starving. once I have other competing foods, they don't eat it as well. so it's also a good way to sneak in some veggies. or fruit.

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 1:18 pm

Thank you everyone for suggestions! Please keep 'em coming.

Octopus, I like the pita pizza idea! The problem with having my kids fill up on veggie/fruit while I am preparing dinner is that they dont eat as much "real" food afterwards and then get hungry before bed...

OOTBubby

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 1:27 pm

octopus wrote:

I also bake my schnitzels - I make it on 400 and bake for an hour. depending how I want them I either cover or uncover. but that does take an hour along with prep time.

I bake schnitzels (at 375) and they're done in around 20 minutes. Unless maybe you're starting with frozen ones.

Last edited by OOTBubby on Tue, Apr 24 2012, 1:28 pm; edited 1 time in total

octopus

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 2:15 pm

OOTBubby wrote:

octopus wrote:

I also bake my schnitzels - I make it on 400 and bake for an hour. depending how I want them I either cover or uncover. but that does take an hour along with prep time.

I bake schnitzels (at 375) and they're done in around 20 minutes. Unless maybe you're starting with frozen ones.

you know, I'm thinking that my oven isn't such a hot oven. in my parent's home I used to bake chicken at 375 but in mine I need 400 otherwise it doesn't get well done.

flowerpower

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 4:19 pm

Whole wheat noodles always goes. You can cook it in the morning and always add different toppings like toasted breadcrumbs, sauted cabbage (you can freeze them for the future), make ziti with it(prepare a few pans and freeze raw).....

Baked chicken in many different easy ways

I like to use the oven-ferfel, rice in different ways, potatoes in cubed, fries.....

You can keep chicken cutlets breaded in the freezer and just fry when you come home.

Meatloaf/balls can be frozen too for future suppers.

If your family likes soup you can cook a big pot and freeze in containers.

For hectic moments frozen pizza or frozen fish sticks and french fries will do the trick.

For lite suppers any kind of eggs with toast or bagels with cut up vegatables is not that bad.

sofaraway

Tue, Apr 24 2012, 10:43 pm

I buy frozen veggies, and mix it with rice and either hard boiled egg or tuna/mayo.
They eat it super well. Cooking frozen veggies doesn't take me more than 5 min.

Couscous is really the fastest and easiest!
My mom used to make it with cinamon, butter and raisins. We would consider it a great treat!!! Coming to think of it, I never did it for my family...

Ziti, it's a nice variation of nodles, but it bakes for a long time. But you can definitely prepare noodles the day before and put it in the fridge. Change the shapes and the sauces Smile

markmywords

Wed, Apr 25 2012, 12:13 am

Really fast, really easy
High fiber oatmeal packets (comes flavored), add an egg per packet (1packet per person), add a little whole wheat flour, water and milk (no measurements/just a bit loose).
Fry in mild tasting olive oil. Ready within minutes. Give fruit with it. My kids LOVE it. (a lighter version of this was given by a weight watchers leader).

They also have microwave packets of brown rice. My DH nukes it and then adds toasted sesame seed oil and salt. YUM!

A nutritionist once recommended putting a platter of cut up fruit on the table to signal the end of a meal. Maybe you could put it before the meal to give yourself time to make food without pressure?

black sheep

Wed, Apr 25 2012, 12:40 am

I LOVE my crockpot for really busy days! put dinner in before you leave the house in the morning, come home to delicious smelling, ready supper. the only drawback is you have to wake up about 20 minutes earlier, but its worth it.

here are some things I make in it:
-whole small red potatoes, washed unpeeled, add cubed meat (stew meat), fill halfway with water and spices
-2 cups brown rice, 4 cups water, ozem soup mix, a whole chicken, sliced sweet potato
-mushroom barley soup (served with toasted bread)

my kids love all three of these. I usually prepare a salad right before serving.

RachelB

Wed, Apr 25 2012, 3:12 am

Chicken Breast are a staple in my house.
I saute a ton of chicken breast strips in a little olive or canola oil and freeze in ziploc bags.
Here are some supper ideas (ready in 15 mins or so):
- Chinese chicken: sauted strips, add some teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds - serve with "fried rice" - rice w/fried egg and some spices

-Chicken "shwarma" - saute w/shwarma spices and some onionr - serve in a pita w salad/ chummus
-Chicken "steak" wraps - strips w/BBQ sauce, veggies in a wrap
-- just plain chicken strips with instant couscous and ketchup

Shopmiami49

Wed, Apr 25 2012, 7:28 am

Tuna casserole
tuna patties
frying pan pizza
scrambled eggs and toast
lasagna

crockpot:

chicken and rice
chicken and potatoes/sweet potatoes
any type of stew
chicken and veggies
meat
meatballs/meatsauce and spaghetti (pasta made in crockpot, too)
minestrone soup with beans for protein

quick sides:

rice
instant mashed potatoes
grilled zucchini slices
cut up veggies
quick salad
instant couscous
pasta

My kids LOVE this - it is a real good snack food even though it is healthy: 1 can chickpeas, drained sauteed in 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add garlic pwder and seasoned salt and serve warm. Mmmm